Documenting the cultural ceremonies of Orang Asli Pahang

Abstract

The Orang Asli Pahang celebrate their heritage with vibrant ceremonies embodying the spirit of community, culture, and nature. This study aims to develop a digital documentation strategy to archive the cultural ceremonies of the Orang Asli Pahang in a cultural repository. This will preserve and enhance access to this cultural information, filling gaps in collective memory and improving documentation of lesser-known communal ceremonies to help revive the cultural heritage. Purpose: The primary objectives of this paper are (i) to document the cultural ceremonies of Orang Asli Pahang, and (ii) to assign themes to the cultural ceremonies widely applicable to all tribes of the Orang Asli in Pahang. Method: Qualitative research method is employed to explore, document and thematize the cultural ceremonies of Orang Asli Pahang. Such methods include content analysis, semi-structured interviews, and thematic analysis. Findings: There exists a rich tapestry of cultural ceremonies that interrelate with other domains of cultural heritage. These cultural ceremonies are commonly motivated by marital celebrations, ancestral honorations, supernatural phenomena, and occasional communal feasts. Concerning all tribes of Orang Asli Pahang, the cultural ceremonies are thematized under rite of passage-related, ancestor-related, supernatural-related, and communal feast-related. The findings also highlighted the urgency to digitally document the Orang Asli Pahang's cultural ceremonies. Respondents remember individual rites of passage but struggle to recall communal ceremonies involving feasts, ancestors, and the supernatura